A True Beginning
by Kutsuu Mugen
Summary: Sarutobi revamps the academy before Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 12 join.  See the results of this tougher training, as well as the results of a new mysterious group entering the scene.  Rated M for language and later violence and blood/gore.
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the manga Naruto, nor any of the characters therein. Further, I am not currently, nor will I ever, earn any money from this work of fiction.

* * *

**_Five years after the Kyuubi no Yokou attack_**

The shadows stretched long across the landscape as the Hokage sat in his office, burning the midnight oil. There were many benefits and curses to being the leader of a shinobi village, especially one as large as Konohagakure no Sato. Even now, one of those curses was coming back to haunt him. Years ago, he allowed the village council to assume control of many of the responsibilities around the village to make things easier for him in his old age and just after the Kyuubi attack. Now, he seriously regretted putting such faith in them. Several hours ago, he had received another report of the death of a genin squad while their sensei had been busy fighting the toughest opponent. These particular genin had even fallen victim to simple bandits, led by a nuke-nin from Kumogakure no Sato. Growing increasingly frustrated with the rising number of genin deaths, he ordered his secretary to bring the shinobi academy curriculum for review. The results shocked him to his core.

Further, they fucking angered him. Those bastards on the council would pay. _'Flower Arranging for Kunoichi? Whose ass did that one come out of? Even worse, all these students are held to such low physical standards. It's even worse with the jutsu requirements! Seriously, has the council sat on their asses so long that they forgot that we need to give our shinobi a broader base than Kawarimi no Jutsu, Bunshin no Jutsu and Henge no Jutsu?'_ As these thoughts raced through the Sandaime's head, the old, forgotten fire slowly came to life in his eyes. No more would he be the pansy catering to the whims of the council. There was no time like the present to bring back the fucking God of Shinobi. He summoned several ANBU, ordering as soon as they gathered, "Assemble the council. Do not take no for an answer. You are authorized to use any non-lethal means you desire." The malicious gleams that shone through the eyeholes of the ANBU masks before their owners left only served to verify in the Sandaime's mind that the council needed a serious reminder.

* * *

As the Sandaime strolled through the doors of the council chambers, the din of arguing council members grew to an outright roar. One of the civilian councilwomen screeched over the others, "Hokage-sama, it is the middle of the night! This had better be important to gather us all from our much deserved sleep!" Obviously, this woman was Haruno Okkuu. Her daughter, Sakura, was scheduled to make the transition from civilian to shinobi academy in two years. It had been required for all upcoming shinobi to first go through a few years of civilian academy to learn the most basic of the basics: mathematics, history, geography, etc.

The Hokage's response surprised everyone in the room. Hell, it damn near gave them all a heart attack. Faster than the civilians could see, he drew a kunai from somewhere within his robes and launched it directly at the woman. As it embedded itself into her arm and her screams started, the Hokage released enough killing intent (KI) that even the clan heads had to take a few deep breaths to remain conscious. The thunderous roar of conversation immediately died. Dropping the KI down to a barely felt maliciousness, he finally spoke - sarcasm falling like a flood off his voice, "Council members of Konoha, so good of you to join me. I have come here to correct a mistake that has been brought to my attention. It seems the academy is too lenient. Therefore, you're all fired. The council is hereby disbarred."

The shrieks grew even louder than before as he turned to leave the room. He looked back once, and only once, to say, "Never forget that this is a military dictatorship. As such, I own all of your asses. Cross me again, in any way, and you will die."

* * *

Over the next two weeks, the populace would periodically witness several people being called to the Hokage's office. Some walked back out through the same entrance they had used, but never the same way. Others... Well, they discovered the glorious experience of flying through a window and landing face first on the ground three stories below. Either way, the Hokage made damn sure that his new plan would be carried out to the letter. No more would his genin be the laughingstock of the universe. He swore his recently rediscovered pair on it.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I will not reveal anything about the new set-up for the academy until the next chapter. Also, all changes to the academy will take effect starting with Sasuke and Sakura's class. All previous classes will continue as is for the most part. Some changes will be partially applied to the previous years. On another note, if you don't understand the last sentence of the story, go ask someone else.

**Translations:** This section will only include new terms. Those familiar with the world of Naruto should have no trouble with the rest.

Okkuu - Annoying


	2. Changes

**_Changes_**

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know the prologue was short and told you nothing. Yes, you have no idea what the hell the Sandaime is going to do. Hence, this chapter. However, do not get used to being updated this quickly. I will update whenever the hell I feel like writing the next chapter. Any requests for speed will be met with complete dismissal. I also will likely wait longer to write the next chapter if someone begs me to write more quickly. Yes, I am a vindictive little bitch like that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the manga Naruto, nor any of the characters therein. Further, I am not currently, nor will I ever, earn any money from this work of fiction.

* * *

**_First day of the new academy semester_**

Sarutobi sighed as he watched the young students casually stroll into the building. None of them seemed to be ready for any sort of life as a shinobi. They held no respect for punctuality or superiors. Even worse, they were definitely not aware of their surroundings. He had twenty ANBU stationed around the area with orders to keep themselves barely hidden. A civilian should have had enough skill to detect the ANBU with the way they were hidden, but even though those ANBU held obviously threatening gestures (kunai and tanto poised to strike), none of the students even batted an eye. Well, it didn't matter now, as his new curriculum would quickly change that.

Within twenty minutes, all students had entered their classrooms. The roll had quickly been called, with any latecomers marked down. These demerits would turn into additional physical requirements and volunteer cleaning duties, regardless of whether or not the violator was a member of a clan or a lowly orphan. All would be treated with equal contempt here. So far though, the students had noticed no changes from the normal schedule. They were beginning to murmur among themselves that the rumors of changes in the academy had been a hoax when the minor explosive tag in each room went off. Sarutobi had designed the tag to produce nothing more than a bright light, a loud bang and lots of smoke, but the academy students were literally shitting themselves, thinking that they were dying.

When the smoke cleared, one Sarutobi kage bunshin stood at the front of each class, from the first years to the fifth years. With a scowl covering his aged face, he addressed the frightened and smelly students. "As of now, you all are worthless. A simple tag in the room, and you all shit yourselves, even though I put the tag in the middle of the room. None of you deserve the honor of being a Konoha shinobi or even a chakra user, but that will change. As of now, all those trained in accessing and using chakra are forbidden from using it in any of your classes. Your sensei will let you know when you have earned that privilege. Welcome to hell." Illusory flames surrounded his figure as he disappeared, laughing maniacally.

* * *

At this point, the sensei that had called the roll stepped forward. With a cold gaze, he addressed the first year students. "I will now explain your daily schedule. Every morning, whether it is a school day or not, you will engage in a series of physical exercises. During this time, you will not use chakra to boost your muscles. On school days, you will report to the field on the south side of the building. There, you will begin with half an hour of stretching and flexibility exercises. Next you will run thirty laps around that field. Run as fast as you can. If we give you weights to keep you with the group during training, still run as fast as you can. We will know if you are not putting forth your best efforts. Next you will do half an hour of constant sit ups followed by half an hour of constant push ups. This will be followed by half an hour of constant pull ups. You will do these as fast as you possibly can. Again, we will know if you don't put forth your best efforts. After you complete all of this, you will have five minutes to rest. In that time, you will meditate. It is the most efficient form of rest available to you for the time you have. After this, you will pair off and spar for an hour. You will not take breaks unless ordered to do so by a sensei. Through all this, you will not use chakra. On days when there is no school, you will report to training ground 13 at the normal time for school and do the same things. A sensei will be there to observe you. Is this understood?"

The shocked students could not find the strength to pick their mouths off the floor long enough to respond. At this, the instructor grew even more angry. Within seconds, he launched a kunai into every student's desk. "That is not the proper response! When your superior asks if you understand, you will fucking respond with 'Yes, sensei!' Your voice will be clear and loud, and you will fucking mean every word. Is that understood?"

This time, the students quickly responded as ordered. Momentarily satisfied, the chuunin continued, "On school days, after your spars, you will eat lunch. You will have twenty minutes in which to do so. If you take longer, you will have a demerit added to your student file. Demerits will always give you more physical exercise time, during which you may not slow down to do the same amount of work in a longer time. Again, we'll be watching. After lunch, you will report to the classroom. There you will be attentive and alert during lectures. There will be tests every week on the lectures. Once I, as your primary sensei, grant you use of chakra, you may use it to practice the subject of the lectures on your own time. Until then, you are forbidden from all use of chakra at all times. Your families have been informed, and though not all of them liked it, they all agreed. You will never use chakra until I grant permission. For you clan bastards, that means that even your clan can't make you use chakra before I fucking say so. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Good, now let's go outside to the south field. It's time to show you your stretches and flexibility exercises."

* * *

Once outside, the students began to crowd around their sensei until he stopped them and positioned them into rank and file, with enough space between them for their exercises. As they fell into position, he explained, "Every morning when you gather, you will fall into formation and wait for your sensei to give you permission to begin. None of you will be given any more advanced training until all of you meet the standards set before you. Therefore, in your own time, help your fellow students. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Very well, let us begin. The first stretch is..."

* * *

And so it began. Numerous complaints were filed with the Hokage's office over the difficulty of the training, but all of the paper they were written on were burned in front of the complainer. Verbal complaints were met with either a blank stare or the sight of the Hokage with his feet propped up, reading the latest installment of the Icha Icha series. Either way, complaints proved to be entirely useless, leading to their halt. With the council out of the way, there was also a pronounced reduction in the amount of paperwork crossing the Sandaime's desk. He had appointed a few trusted Jounin to oversee various issues with a weekly meeting of the group to discuss various issues that arose.

One complaint in particular continued to be an issue, even though the Hokage and his new council of Jounin ignored it every time it was brought up. The Hyuuga and Uchiha clans continually complained about the loss of their members that the reforms at the academy produced. To enforce the rules of no chakra use during physical practice and at all other times, the Hokage recruited numerous members of both clans. All of the men and women he recruited were retired shinobi on the reserves list (and in the case of the Hyuuga clan, branch family members). After much research, he freed his Hyuuga recruits from their seals. He gave all of them new housing to further separate them from meddlesome clan influences. These recruits were split into pairs composed of one Uchiha and one Hyuuga. Together each pair monitored a class from morning to night, making sure that no recruits used chakra.

As these thoughts crossed through his mind, Sarutobi smirked. '_This is only the beginning. Just imagine their faces when they see the next phase.'_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** The basic physical requirements will be twenty laps around the entire village in under two hours; 200 each of push ups, sit ups and pull ups; and enough mastery of a taijutsu or martial arts fighting style to last against a taijutsu specializing chuunin fighting at half power for half an hour. All this will be without the use of chakra. Oh, and I am assuming the village to be about 6 kilometers in circumference. Therefore, twenty laps would make around 120 kilometers. During training and tests, the faster members of each class will be given sufficient strap-on chakra weights to put them in the middle of the pack. This serves to make it easier on the observers, as everyone will be relatively close to one another.

And yes, this is insanely difficult. I imagine shinobi to be vastly superior to civilians, however. My story will hopefully reflect that properly.


End file.
